WHO Childhood Cancer Mortality Rate Gaps by National Income...Initiation of a project to distribute treatment in middle and low-income countries
Feb 11, 2025
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According to the WHO, 400,000 children are diagnosed with childhood cancers such as acute leukemia, brain tumors, and lymphoma every year, and 7 out of 10 die.
The mortality rate of childhood cancer varies greatly by national income. Child cancer survival rates exceed 80% in high-income countries, but in low- and middle-income countries, childhood cancer survival rates are less than 30%.
In this regard, the WHO announced on the 11th (local time) that it will launch a 'Global Platform for Access to Pediatric Cancer Treatment' in collaboration with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the United States.
It is a project to supply pediatric cancer treatments to middle and low-income countries, and initial supplies have already been provided to Mongolia and Uzbekistan, and treatments will be supplied to Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal, and Zambia within this month. The WHO predicts that at least 5,000 pediatric cancer patients will benefit from treatment in at least 30 hospitals in these countries within this year.
At the end of 2021, the WHO collaborated with St. Jude's Hospital to prepare a free distribution of treatments. The hospital decided to invest $200 million (290 billion won) over the next six years to promote the project with the WHO and announced the official launch on the same day. The primary goal is to treat 120,000 children by supplying treatments to 50 countries over six years. The WHO's plan is to increase the scale of the pediatric cancer treatment project by joining governments, pharmaceutical industries, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the process of the project.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
